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Get Your Post Inspiration from Referer Keywords

Get Your Post Inspiration from Referer Keywords

I quite often look at my blog statistics to see who visit my blog, where they came from and which posts are popular. Lately I’ve been particularly interested in the keywords people use in search engines and where these keywords lead them. While you could definitely call me blog statistics addict and argue that the time checking stats could be spend more productive there are reasons why checking stats is good for you. They may serve as an inspiration for new blog posts.

I use the WordPress ShortStat plugin for my daily dose of statistics but any other blog plugin or Google Analytics will provide you with the same ‘keywords-used’ information. ShortStat divides these into recently used keywords and overall most used keywords. The latter shows that most people drop by my blog to check out articles on WordPress photoblog themes.

Popular keywords overview:

  1. wordpress photoblog theme
  2. wordpress photoblog themes
  3. anne helmond
  4. photoblog wordpress theme
  5. photoblog wordpress themes

About a year ago I wrote an article series on WordPress and photoblogs and this series is by far my most popular content. The list of most recently used keywords shows that while the general focus of my blog is not on photoblogs it is still the main reason why people visit my blog.

Last keywords used:

  • wordpress themes photoblog 09:35
  • rietveld academie, txt blog 07:47
  • integrate zenpress and wordpress 07:21
  • wordpress now reading templates 04:53
  • wordpress photoblog theme 04:06
  • wordpress now reading style 04:04
  • gallery2 multi files upload 02:37
  • visual basic code for TinyMCE 01:57
  • photoblog creative commons 01:26

These last used keywords could fill up a whole new article series on photoblogs. You could use your used keywords list as an inspiration source for new posts.

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The used keywords cover topics you have not written about yet. I have no articles covering the subject of ‘photoblog creative commons.’ This in its turn could be interpreted in several ways: A post on photoblogs with a Creative Commons licenses or how to use the new and popular PhotoDropper to insert photos with a Creative Commons license into your photoblog theme.

The main point is that your readers can give you new insights, they may combine keywords you never matched together and look for things you never thought of before.

Have you ever used your visitor’s keywords as a source of inspiration?

View Comments (6)
  • Recently, I installed the Psychic Search‘ plug-in on my WordPress blog. This plugin gives you the opportunity to find out what readers are looking for inside your blog, and which searches didn’t return results, i.e. what readers are looking for and don’t find in my blog.

  • Hi Anne,

    I use keyword referral research quite often, and it’s worked to my advantage in many ways.

    Using keyword stats provides ample opportunity to develop more posts on the topics, using those specific keywords used, linking to other related posts.

    Doing that very thing can greatly increase the time visitors spend reading your blog, because they are given more valuable information to further their understanding and knowledge on the specific topic.

    Spending time doing keyword research can also give you clear and concise keywords people use on a particular subject where there are ZERO search engine results, giving you the perfect post title for that topic. It works very well I must say. :)

  • So glad to see that I’m not the only one doing this! I keep a book blog with a library list. I’ve been able to tell the books most searched within that library and know I need to write a review of those books soon.

    I also know that most people were looking for quotes for A Thousand Splendid Suns. So of course, I include my favorite quote. Now when you search for “quotes a thousand splendid suns” I’m now #2! I’m so excited! The majority of my traffic comes for this one post.

    Thanks for a great blog. I read it everyday in my reader but first time commentator.

  • @AnneTanne: What an appropriate name for a plugin, thanks for sharing.

    @Lin: How do you determine if a search hits zero results, do you use a plugin such as Psychic Search, or is it a standard feature in Google Analytics? I’m curious.

    @Maw: Welcome to the comment section of the Blog Herald, we’re glad you share your thoughts with us. For your info: in my Google results you show up as #1 :)

  • It’s really interesting to dig into your stats and try to figure out how your blog is working and how you can better serve your readers. It also requires some common sense.

    A complaint I’m hearing a lot recently involves the use of keywords and search terms that bring in visitors the blogger doesn’t want. I know this sounds like the opposite of what you would want, but these are readers brought in by specific keywords, not ones that hang around, subscribe, or return. They are the lookie-loos. Peak and gone.

    I really want to help people find the information they need, not provide false hope. If I find a specific keyword or phrase is bringing in traffic that I don’t want, especially if it brings them in without the promise of an answer, I reconsider my word choices on the articles that are bringing in that attention.

    So while keywords inspire content, they can also inspire you to change your word choices to improve your “sticky” success rate.

  • Excellent point Lorelle. Keeping an eye on your keywords can work two ways. I’ve never looked at it from the opposite side, as a way to use them as a focus point. Thanks for that.

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